Wheel suspension



y 1950 H. D. LANGE 2,507,108

WHEEL SUSPENSION Filed 001;. 11, 1946 1 IN V EN TOR.

Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED stares PATENT invention relates generally to motor ve;- ic nd; ore art l rt o n d vidu wheel: suspension the;

Itris an object'oft s inventiontoprovide, in.

an: individual Wheel; suspension of the type have-- ing. upper and lower horizontal suspensionlar m s and sanninterconnectingi wheeimgunfing; member n. proved. an er: of hiein a h proper caster and camber;settingiorhe wh el Itzis-tafurtherobject this invention to pro;

vide, in an individual;wheel suspension :Of the 9 having upper and lower horizontal suspension armshandia vertical wheel mounting member, a novel ball type pivotal connection between said wheel mountingimember and; said upper suspension arm for obtaining the proper caster and camber setting of the wheel.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from thefollowingdetailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accome panying v drawing i in which Figure 1 isaperspectiye View; oi; an individual wheel suspension embodying features Ofjthi S; in;- vention;

Fig. 2 is;an,enlarged, Vertica1 cross-sectional fpivotal connectiqmbet wfi heore suspension arm and the Wheel mounting member taken within the circle 2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the ball head retaining member.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that a conventional vehicle wheel 5 is pivotally connected to a wheel knuckle i by means of a king pin El supported in the wheel by spaced lugs II. On the inner end of the knuckle l is a supporting arm I 3 which extends vertically above and below the knuckle and integral therewith. The upper end of the arm 13 has a tapped opening it formed therein and likewise is split longitudinally and provided with laterally extending ears i5 which have aligned apertures l6 passing therethrough for receiving a bolt H therethrough.

The lower end of the supporting arm I3 is pivotally connected by a bolt it to the outer end of a wishbone type lower suspension arm 19 which has its inner end pivotaily connected to the vehicle frame 23 by means of a bolt 2|. A coil spring 22 is seated in the pan of the suspension arm ES and has its opposite upper end abutting against vehicle frame. The lower suspension likewise carries a bracket 23 on which is mounted a torsional arm 25 which in turn is connected at its upper end to one end of an antisivay bar 21 in a conventional manner.

An upper suspension arm 29 is pivotally conaligned. with. the axis of: the ;-sunnori ne- 2. nected to the vehicle; frame .5- by 9;; 11.911 it; extends substantially h ri ontally: erefmmi u wardly toward the wheel; whereupon; it; is; bent; downwardly to have; its; lower endsuhstantially;

The lower end:- of; the u er-i-suspension ar theni nne ied pivo ally o; he: upp r endz fi he upp rt -arm. is as, .WiIL reinefienrd scr b d and; which constitutes the principal; features ;.oi-, the present invention;

The lowerend of; thaunpe nspen ionzarmr 29 is formed. with a; cupyshapedgrecess; 5;rhaving; a horizontal flan e enerally;ind c ies ati-ilf which; p jects laterally h refrom; and-1f ILS; hannel; it: han eL 33:; faces; un dly; an as; hr e: radially spac d. v tica an v 1' ieretnroughi which. ece ve hree: olts 32, for use. which will, be hereinafterde bed 'IEhe inner chennelysectiq 35; hasz z e. mountedtherein -.which snrov dedz ,dow weirdly;- facing balleshanedi; rece s: 4! which s: adaptedv to. receive; a, ball: head: 3. her.ein--. Q i a vertically disposed connecting member; 44,;

Below theball head: int eqomie tinem mh t: iii-11s OHIlGdiW'iffih aineckcp r i n; 45 hichmassai hexagonal; rinil: on; he Qwer nd: h r f; adapted to receive-al-toollforiurn ne he mem ber 4a. Theiconnec ina' membenflih a downewardly extending threaded stem;45 whosevaxisds; eccentric to the axis of the neck 45 so that rotation of the stem 49 efiects an eccentric rotation of the ball head 53.

The threaded stem #39 is threaded into the supporting arm recess hi to the desired angular position of the ball head 43 to get the proper caster and camber setting and then locked against rotation at this setting in the supporting arm I3 by tightening the bolt H.

A vertical aperture 54 passes through the bearing block 39 and the channel section 35 and communicates with the ball recess 4!. The portion of the aperture passing through the channel section 35 is internally threaded to receive a grease fitting 6| for lubricating the ball recess 4| and ball head 43.

In order to maintain the ball head 43 in an abutting relation with the ball recess 4!, a generally cup-shaped retaining member is provided which has an open throat 61 therein adapted to slidably receive the neck portion 45 of the connecting member 44. Adjacent to the open throat 61, the member 55 is formed with a radial indentation 68 which contacts the lower portion of the ball head it. The retaining member is formed with surfaces complementary to the adjacent faces of the suspension arm horizontal flange 3| and outwardly of the radial indentation 88 has a channel section H, the upper surface of which abuts against the lower surface of the channel portion 33. Three vertical apertures 13 pass through the channel section H and are aligned with the apertures 36 in the channel portion 33 for receiving the bolts 37. A seal 75 is positioned between the horizontal flange 3| and the complementary surfaces of the cup-shaped member 65 for preventing the leakage of lubricant therefrom. A nut 17 is threaded on the end of each bolt 37 for securing the suspension arm and cup member together and compressing the seal between the same.

It will be noted that the connecting member can be turned 360 and in order to obtain the proper caster and camber setting for the wheel it is necessary to select the proper quadrant for the axis of the threaded stem 49 of the connecting member 44. This is accomplished by turning the hexagonal portion 4'! which sets the arm 13 at the proper caster and camber angles, due to the fact that the axis of threaded stem 49 is eccentric to the axis of the neck portion 45, and likewise due to the fact that the threaded stem 49 is rigidly locked to the knuckle supporting arm I3 by the bolt I! therein. The caster and camber adjustment is permitted within its limits through the connection between the lower end of the arm l3 and the frame. When the hexagonal portion 47 is turned, the ball head will rotate about its center in the bearing block 39, but the axis of the threaded stem being eccentric thereto will cause the entire knuckle supporting arm I3, the knuckle 7 and the wheel to be moved to the proper caster and camber setting.

This provides a simple and speedy means for setting the caster and camber for each of the wheels and the eccentricity of the threaded stem to the ball head is sufficiently great to allow the proper caster and camber setting to be made.

While only one particular embodiment of this invention has been described, it is to be understood that it is not to be restricted thereto, and that I intend to cover all modifications thereof which will be apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a vehicle independent wheel suspension, a vehicle frame, a vertically disposed wheel mounting member, a suspension arm having one end thereof adapted to be pivotally connected to said vehicle frame and the other end thereof having a ball-shaped recess therein, a connecting member having a ball-shaped head on one end thereof pivotally mounted in said arm ball recess, means retaining said ball head in said recess including a generally cup-shaped retainer connected to said suspension arm, a threaded stem on the opposite end of said connecting member from said ball head, said ball head being eccentrically positioned with respect to the longitudinal axis of said threaded stem, said wheel mounting member having an internally threaded recess at one end thereof receiving said threaded stem and engaging the same throughout the majority of its length, whereby turning of said connecting member varies the caster and camber setting of said wheel mounting member, the wall of said member recess being longitudinally split, means releasably clamping the split portions of said recess wall for locking said threaded stem against rotation within said recess, and means formed on the outer periphery of said stem intermediate said ball head and said threaded end for receiving a tool for turning said connecting member so as to vary the caster and. camber setting of the wheel mounting member.

HANS D. LANGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 19,482 Baker Mar. 5, 1935 1,646,288 Graham Oct. 18, 1927 1,976,258 Hollingsworth Oct. 9, 1934 1,986,149 Harris Jan. 1, 1935 2,167,984 Leighton Aug. 1, 1939 2,238,879 Dauben Apr. 22, 1941 2,405,458 Slack et al. Aug. 6, 1946 

